A cream liqueur made from marula fruit, poured over ice after dinner. It was launched in 1989 using fruit gathered by rural harvesters from wild trees, and the elephant on the label reflects the animals’ well-documented appetite for marula.
It depends on high-pressure homogenisation with a stabiliser to keep cream and spirit together, and on a distilled marula base that cannot be made without a licence — and the fruit is wild-gathered over a short season.
What goes into it
- marula fruit
- dairy cream
- sugar
- a distilled marula spirit
- an emulsifier
How it is made
Wild marula fruit is collected, fermented and distilled into a spirit, which is aged in oak for two years. That spirit is then homogenised under pressure with dairy cream and sugar and a stabiliser, so the fat stays suspended in the alcohol instead of splitting out. The alcohol level is also what makes a cream product shelf-stable.
How long it takes: two years in oak for the base spirit, then blending
How it is eaten
Over ice after dinner, in coffee, or over ice cream.
History
Launched in 1989 using marula fruit gathered by rural harvesters from wild trees; the elephant on the label reflects the animals’ taste for the fruit.
Frequently asked questions
What is Amarula?
Amarula is a wine & spirit from South Africa: cream liqueur made from marula fruit, poured over ice after dinner. Launched in 1989 using marula fruit gathered by rural harvesters from wild trees; the elephant on the label reflects the animals’ taste for the fruit.
How is Amarula made?
Wild marula fruit is collected, fermented and distilled into a spirit, which is aged in oak for two years. That spirit is then homogenised under pressure with dairy cream and sugar and a stabiliser, so the fat stays suspended in the alcohol instead of splitting out. The alcohol level is also what makes a cream product shelf-stable. It takes two years in oak for the base spirit, then blending.
Can I make Amarula at home?
No, and the atlas gives no method for it. It depends on high-pressure homogenisation with a stabiliser to keep cream and spirit together, and on a distilled marula base that cannot be made without a licence — and the fruit is wild-gathered over a short season.
What goes into Amarula?
Marula fruit, dairy cream, sugar, a distilled marula spirit, an emulsifier.
How is Amarula eaten?
Over ice after dinner, in coffee, or over ice cream.
